How to dress for running, walking in extreme cold temperatures

The sun was on the run, a dim porthole surrendering in a gray sky, as the week’s snowstorm approached, hours away. Eric Lonergan was on the run, too — for his regular jog on the Blackstone Boulevard path.

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By
Michael P. McKinney
Posted Jan. 23, 2014 @ 9:42 pm

The sun was on the run, a dim porthole surrendering in a gray sky, as the week’s snowstorm approached, hours away. Amid the turn-your-fingers-to-pink-ham cold of Tuesday morning, Eric Lonergan was on the run, too — for his regular jog on the Blackstone Boulevard path.

Wearing the svelte gear of a runner, gloves and hat, he passed a woman who wore a heavy parka. Back and forth he went on the East Side path, well used by runners and walkers across the seasons.

“The first step is always the hardest step, and you do tend to warm up” when you run, Lonergan said as he prepared for his boulevard run. The other advice he follows: “Just to dress in layers so you’re warm. So you have your base layer, your little half-zip then you’ve got your vest. If you get too hot, you can always peel something off.”

Hard to picture hot as temperatures resided in the teens Tuesday and plunged colder still overnight and into Wednesday. But keep in mind that Lonergan, of Warwick, and other dedicated runners are also experienced, having done running, recreational and competitive, for many years.

So running in Tuesday’s kind of weather — and the dome of extreme cold expected to hang over the state through the weekend — probably falls under the don’t-try-this-at-home category for the rest of us. And as the temperatures plunged, with the National Weather Service issuing all manner of serious warnings that stretch through Friday, people were advised to stay inside and avoid the cold all together.

The Red Cross advised that people dress in several layers including mittens, a hat and weatherized boots, but also to minimize travel. Frostbite and hypothermia are threats to be guarded against.

Dr. Dina Morrissey, of the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital, said that for people who are not experienced, careful runners, it is not a good idea to run in the sort of weather we are experiencing. Even for an experienced runner, it’s not a good idea to do a particularly taxing run.

“You definitely have to dress appropriately for the weather, so when it’s really cold, you want to wear layers and you want to make sure the layers” are closer to the body, to “wick” moisture away. For instance, wearing something such as cotton is a bad idea because if someone sweats, it holds moisture.

There are synthetic materials that are much better at wicking away moisture, Morrissey said. Then the outer layers should be water resistant. There are synthetic liners that can go on hands and special socks sold at stores focused on runners.

“When your body is cold, it tends to shut down blood flow to your extremities,” Morrissey said, so it is “really important” that someone protects the extremities “because they are the most at risk of frostbite.”

People should get back inside immediately after running and get into dry clothes as soon as possible. Hydration while running is also vital.

Morrissey also cautioned that people with health factors, such as asthma, can be at risk for breathing problems when the air is cold.

And, she said, there are other things to be careful of for anybody outside: if the cold brought snow, spaces are narrower and slippery.

Lonergan graduated from North Kingstown High School, where he said he ran cross country and did indoor and outdoor running throughout his years, then more of the same at Rhode Island College. These days, he works at Rhode Runners in Providence and is part of their running club, which includes weekly group runs on Blackstone Boulevard.

He often runs near his home in Warwick, but said that he usually runs once or twice a week in Providence.

Another runner, Brien Lang, who helped found the Wild Colonial running club, said he tends to do warm-ups inside — stretching — before running in cold weather. He wears various layers for the running. For devoted runners, he said, whether it is warm or cold out, there is a feeling of wanting to get out and move.

For people who are just starting out as runners or considering going running, Lang said he tells them to “start with something you are going to enjoy and not make you miserable and drop immediately.”